When purchasing online most customers want to be certain about the items they are buying just like their experience in physical stores. In online stores where you cannot see, touch and feel the actual product with your senses, immersive technologies are filling the gap. Augmented reality (AR) is playing a great role in establishing this certainty.
The journey of Augmented Reality app development started mostly with mobile gaming apps. It was a game called Pokemon Go, that brought worldwide attention to this immersive technology. Soon, the effect became popular across other industries where businesses need to establish certainty of the products in the buying process. As virtual interactions in the shopping process continues to grow, AR based retail experience became the part and parcel of e-commerce stores.
What Is Augmented Reality?
Basically, three different levels of reality are there to exist including virtual, actual and augmented reality. Augmented Reality (AR) uses a software app and a device together for superimposing digital information over reality just to extend the look, feel and experience of the reality itself. Instead of generating a completely replicated digital experience similar to that of actual reality, AR extends the experience of the actual world around us.
For example, while in a departmental store just by scanning a product with your handheld device in a store, you can instantly get a 3D view along with detailed specifications of the product. In this case, the AR allowed the customers to experience a product with real life countenance by bringing together online and offline shopping experiences.
In the similar way, you can buy the furniture and furnishings for your apartment just after evaluating their post-installation look and feel by simply taking a photograph of the room interior and imposing the visuals of your furniture on it. In this case, an AR based real estate app helps you to superimpose digital replicas of your purchases on the actual image of the room, so that you can judge how the furniture actually looks in the present setting of your room.
Types of AR Applications
Now, augmented reality can be implemented in different ways within an app. Some of the common types of AR applications include the following.
Marker-based AR
Marker-based AR is the most common one which is also called Image Recognition based AR. This type of AR uses the device camera to detect and scan an object and informs the users about the objects scanned and displayed on the screen.
This type of AR creates the 3D version of any object with more details covering the look from all angles. The user with this type of AR can actually rotate the 3D image and have a better look and feel of the object on the screen.
Markerless AR
Markerless AR by adding more information on reality delivers an immersive experience to the users. The AR that uses active location easily falls into this category. Markerless AR by fetching data provided by the device features such as
GPS, compass, accelerometer and gyroscope guides use to get access to AR content in a particular location.
This is how the mobile game Pokemon Go used markerless AR to display the Pokemons based on the location of the player as per his GPS coordinates. Snapchat World Lenses also uses this technology to allow location-based posting content.
Superimposition-based AR
The Superimposition-based AR replaces the actual view with the partial or fully augmented view. Here advanced object recognition technology by utilising the camera and other device capabilities play a key role.
A good example of this can be seen in AR based virtual catalogues of furniture that allows users to superimpose the furniture visuals on their room image in real time and evaluate the ultimate look and feel.
Projection-based AR
Projection-based AR is the most simple one among all types of AR-based apps. This type of AR projects synthetic lights on the physical surfaces allowing interactions.
The common example of projected holograms on the movie watchers who can interact with them as per the permitted variations. The Star Wars movie used the technique.
The ever increasing demand of AR for retail
With so much promise to extend the experience of our known reality through digital means, AR is likely to be embraced by most industry niches. No wonder, AR market is experiencing rapid growth and the estimated figure says that by 2024 AR will have a market value of $50 billion.
As per other statistics provided by Statista, the growth of AR adoption across industries will produce a market value of $18 billion U.S. dollars by 2023. A whopping 61% of customers consider choosing retailers who offer them an AR-based shopping experience. All these statistics and market predictions confirm that in the years to come AR is going to be the single most important deciding factor for sales and marketing outcome across many online and omnichannel stores.
Leading use-cases of AR for e-commerce
So, AR-based shopping experience is here to stay and prosper in the entire retail industry. Already many e-commerce stores and online retailers across diverse industry niches have incorporated AR into the mix of their user experience offerings. The benefits of augmented reality in e-commerce and retail is best experienced through real-world use cases. Here we explain a few of them.
Furniture
Famous furniture retailer brands such as IKEA after realising the difficulties faced by their customers in evaluating whether the purchased items will fit perfectly in their real room interiors, incorporated AR into their app to solve the problem. By using AR Kit of Apple iOS the company built IKEA Place app through which customers can incorporate the 3D furniture visuals right over their home interior visual and evaluate the space, look and overall aesthetics.
Real Estate property sales
One of the most popular use cases of AR can be found in the sales and marketing of Real Estate properties. When showing the properties to prospective buyers, real estate sellers can use 3D visuals along with AR-powered treatment to actual images for easier evaluation of the properties.
Hotels and travel industry
AR is increasingly getting popular in the hotel and hospitality industry for its power to extend the experience by adding more information on and above the reality. Augmented Reality is being used to help visitors in historical sites and hotels to extend their travel experience and ease of evaluating an accommodation before booking. Travel apps are offering AR-based extended experiences loaded with a lot of data and 3D guidance based on the location of the traveler while visiting a new city or place.
Garments, Eyewear and footwear
In the retail sector, the AR use of AR has been particularly popular. Just by simply scanning a product with your device camera you can get a 3D view of the item and get a lot of additional information. Similarly, while buying online you can mention your body measurements, upload your images and see yourself wearing the garments, eyewear and shoes in real-time and decide for other options.
How AR transforms the e-commerce shopping experience?
Try Before Buy experience
Augmented Reality (AR) by integrating the actual objects with projected images, now can allow customers to virtually try a product in person before deciding to purchase. This Try before you buy experience allows customers to make more informed decisions regarding their purchases.
Thanks to AR, the incapability to experience a product physically for online shoppers can be breached easily. Offering a real time glimpse of a product on a person, AR ensures far true-to-life experience for the buyers.
Personalised eCommerce shopping experience
When it comes to the retail shopping experience, personalisation is a crucial aspect for most customers. Thanks to Augmented Reality (AR) the eCommerce shopping experience can be more tuned to the personal preferences of the shoppers than ever before.
Shoppers now can visualise the products with the actual context of their own look, home interior and backgrounds. No wonder, AR ends up personalising choices as per the user preferences, taste and context.
AR-based filters for social media
Snapchat gained popularity thanks to its innovative and funny AR based filters. Lately, Instagram Stories have also incorporated AR filters. Though initially, these filters were all about fun, increasing number of business brands are now opting for AR filters for social media promotion.
Besides boosting brand awareness, it engages people by telling them to try filters and see how they look on them. It also involves a sort of Wow factor making many users feel amused with a funny or visually appealing filter. AR filters are now used by cosmetics and fashion brands to help users try different looks and consequently to make them engaged with the brand.
Interactive customer support
AR is also being used in smarter user guides helping users to interact with and navigate a digital product. AR-based interactive guides are being incorporated into the onboarding experience of many mobile apps and websites. When it comes to e-commerce, the same can help shoppers going through the interactive steps to make purchases.
In the automobile industry, several car brands incorporated AR-based user guides for helping users to experience the driving experience and ambience of the new cars right on their mobile device screen. It can be as simple as voice messaging your queries and the interface offering you a 3D experience of the particular aspect of the vehicle on the mobile screen.
Conclusion
At a time when a global pandemic made physical distancing a norm of life, AR infused extended reality experienced on our mobile screens can really help to bridge the gap between in-person retail and online retail. Undoubtedly, AR for e-commerce seems to be more promising than ever before, as remote buying is going to foster. AR helped brands meting out the challenges of an unsatisfactory online shopping experience in an innovative manner.Â
